Triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt has a clear focus on the next Summer Games. His plans for the 2013 season? They’re not so clear.
Bolt said Wednesday that he’s looking forward to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, though has yet to decide which events he will compete in at the world championship season next year.
“If I can go to Rio and really defend all my titles, that would make it even greater,” Bolt said ahead of the Weltklasse Diamond League meeting on Thursday.
With just two races remaining this season — the 200 metres in Zurich and a 100 in Brussels next week — his future plans have attracted more attention.
Bolt has revived his old flirtation with adding the long jump to his usual program of 100 and 200 metres and 4×100 relay in Jamaica colours at the 2013 world championships in Moscow or beyond.
Photo: Dylan Martinez/Reuters
Canada has been disqualified from the final of the men’s 4×100-metre relay at the London Olympics after initially appearing to win the bronze medal.
The team of Gavin Smellie of Brampton, Ont., Ottawa’s Oluseyi Smith, Jared Connaughton of New Haven, P.E.I., and anchor Justyn Warner of Markham, Ont., brought out the Maple Leaf to celebrate after posting a time of 38.07 seconds.
But the team was disqualified after it appeared Connaughton stepped out of his lane.
“It was my fault,” he told reporters after the race.
The DQ gave the bronze to Trinidad and Tobago, leaving the Canadians doubled over on the track in tears.
Oscar Pistorius is going to the Olympics: Oscar Pistorius has been selected to run in both the individual 400 metres and the 4×400-metre relay at the London Olympics and is set to become the first amputee track athlete to compete at any games.
In a surprising last-minute decision Wednesday, South Africa’s Olympic committee and national track federation cleared the double amputee to run in his individual event. The Olympic committee earlier announced that Pistorius had been picked only for the relay.
Olympic committee chief executive Tubby Reddy tells The Associated Press that the track body asked for permission to also allow Pistorius to run the 400, even though he had not met their qualifying criteria.
Jessica Zelinka puts us all to shame. The Canadian heptathlete is mulling a bid for the women’s 100m hurdles at the Canadian Olympic trials… which could see her compete in that race on top of her seven events in London. Because she is that good.
A dead heat: In this photo provided by USA Track and Field, Jeneba Tarmoh (bottom) and Allyson Felix cross the finish line at exactly the same time in the women’s 100 metre dash at the U.S. Olympic trials on Saturday. Only one of the runners will secure the final spot on the Olympic team. USA Track and Field is trying to figure out how to break the tie.
Photo: USTF/Getty Images